Monday, January 12, 2009

Am I A "Contest Hog"?

Surprisingly, January has been a loser so far. I endured a seven day losing streak, until this past weekend gave me some winnings.

Anyhoo, I was reading the new FSL message boards when I came across this thread. Here's the part I found a bit ridiculous:

"I have been playing on different fantasy sites for years...and it always seems to become a issue unless the admin gets the proper setting in place...there always has to be "that guy"...he has to play every contest...he is a contest hog...

there seems to be one on this site...I think we all know who it is...this definitely will kill your site...it has killed many others...players play in daily fantasy leagues cuz they like variety...not playing against the same guy every nite...the guys chases off players quicker than he does girls...something needs to be in place to not allow a player to take over the site...

[snip]

Most sites have messageboards so players can chat about what to do...such as not taking his contests if he signs up first...sending in complaints to the admin...whatever...

I would think the Admin could just tell the player to stay out of the smaller contests, both head to head and multiplayer...does he really need to play them if he is in multiple 50, 100, 200 dollar contests..."

Now, I feel for this poster. I'm pretty sure she's talking about Kaiseroll13, because the thread talks about hoops contests (which I don't play). However, I'm sure other players feel the same way about me.

Up to now, I've been extremely faithful to FSL. I've given them 99% of my fantasy patronage. They have the best fantasy hockey game on the market. IMO, they have the best customer support as well.

As one of the highest volume players on FSL, do you think they are going to tell me to stop playing? Hell, no! They want me to generate as much rake as possible. If anything, they should be trying to find me new opponents. The bigger the player pool, the smaller the percentage of contests I'm playing.

Hockey contests range from $1 to $107. I prefer to play $11 and $22, but there is not too much activity at those levels. There is actually decent amounts of play at $33 and $54, but I don't carry enough online to play volume at those levels. Bankroll management FTW, folks.

So I spread my play out amongst all dollar amounts. I know there are some players who would prefer not to play me. I try to let someone else take them. If no one signs up after awhile, I usually fill the contest. But I am considerate.

I also don't play many contests when there are only 2-3 games on the schedule. Usually just the multis.

One other thing:

I have no sympathy for anyone bitching about my volume play when I'm on a f*cking SEVEN DAY LOSING STREAK! I'm donating to the masses, they should be thankful and coming back for more, not complaining I'm playing too much.

Its actually a valid complaint, that we have thought about from the beginning. We have had a software fix in mind for about a year now. Any fix lowers our rake, so we would rather not pull the trigger. Traffic is getting to the point that this will no longer be an issue in short order, but it can be an issue now. The leverage that can be applied to an edge in fantasy is massive. Users have even complained that he hogs the $213 level contests which is pretty silly. If you are going to play at that level, I think you should be happy that we can give you action, and you better be ready to beat anyone.

I would not call you a fantasy hog at all, but others have gotton out of hand in the past. There are some players very high on the leaderboard who have gone busto through poor bankroll management. The unnamed player went busto last year at the end of football season, by getting way too confident.